I'm upgrading my computer gradually, and the first part I need to replace is my 3TB Seagate ST3000DM008 hard drive. It has become extremely slow, and even opening folders takes a long time, so I'm worried it may be failing. My operating system is already installed on a 250GB ADATA SU800 SSD, but the hard drive contains other important files and games. I'm considering buying a 2TB SSD because larger drives are currently very expensive. What's the best way to back up everything before the hard drive dies, and should I clone anything or simply copy the data to the new drive? I'm also watching for sales and checking historical prices before buying.
3 Answers
A 2TB SSD may be a reasonable compromise if you can fit the data onto it. Check how much space is actually occupied rather than replacing it with the same advertised capacity. SSD prices are high right now, so comparing several retailers and waiting for a genuine sale could help, but I wouldn’t delay backing up a drive that already seems to be deteriorating.
If the 3TB drive is still healthy enough to read normally, you can copy its contents to the replacement drive. If it starts producing errors, freezes, or disconnecting, use a recovery-focused tool that can skip bad sectors rather than repeatedly retrying the same files. Keep at least one additional backup of anything you cannot replace.
Back up the important files as soon as possible, before trying anything that puts extra stress on the drive. If the drive is still readable, copy your irreplaceable data to another drive first. For cloning the operating-system SSD, Macrium Reflect is a straightforward option, although cloning the failing 3TB drive may not be ideal if it has read errors.
That makes sense. I’ll prioritize copying the important files first and look into Macrium for the boot drive.
I’m leaning toward 2TB now after seeing the current prices. The drive is nearly full, but I should be able to reduce the amount of data before moving it.